Eyewitness Testimony

• One way witnesses can be misled is leading questions - these encourage the eyewitness to answer in particular way or talk about a specific subject.

  Loftus and Palmer -- pps watched videos of car crashes and completed a questionnaire which included a critical question - how fast were the cars going when they hit eachother - the verb changed - pps had one of 5 groups - hit, contacted, bumped, collided, smashed. They found that pps estimated 10mph faster in the smashed condition compared to the contacted condition.
• Loftus and Palmer Evaluation

  Research had standardised procedures meaning researchers have a high level of control over extraneous variables. Ensures they are measuring the influence of the leading questions on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. The task lacks mundane realism. Watching a video of a car crash does not reflect the same level of anxiety that would be experienced when watching a real car crash - lacks ecological validity. Research has RWA - led to changes in the way police question witnesses and Loftus herself has testified in courtrooms to help avoid miscarriages of justice.
• Another way eyewitnesses can be misled is via Post Event Discussion.

  This is when witnesses have an opportunity to discuss the event with others who can influence their memory of the details.

  Gabbert et al -- PPs watched a video of a crime from one of two different angles. Half the participants could discuss what they saw with someone who witnessed a different angle to them and the other half could not. Pps who discussed the crime reported things in their testimony that they could not have witnessed from their original angle.
• Gabbert et al Evaluation

  Research had standardised procedures meaning researchers have a high level of control over extraneous variables ensuring they are measuring the influence of the post event discussion on the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. The task lacks mundane realism. Giving a testimony in an experiment does not have the same consequences as giving a testimony in real life - lacks ecological validity. RWA - It has led to the police putting focus on interviewing the eyewitness ASAP after the event and asking them questions to check the accuracy of their memory.
• Anxiety is an emotion characterised by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and an activation of the fight or flight response which causes physical changes like increased heart rate. Research into the influence of anxiety on the accuracy of EWT has been inconsistent. Some research has suggested that anxiety has a negative influence on the accuracy of recall. Some has suggested it has a positive influence.
• Loftus et al - Anxiety has a Negative Influence on EWT

  Pps watched slides, half the pps saw a man hand a cheque to a cashier, half the pps saw a man point a gun at a cashier. Pps who saw the gun remembered less details about the event. Loftus used tunnel theory to explain these results - in an anxious situation your vision will tunnel and you will focus on the item that causes you anxiety (in this situation this is weapon focus).
• Yuille and Cutshall - Anxiety has a Positive Influence on EWT

  Pps were people who had witnessed a real armed robbery 5 months earlier. They were asked to rate the level of anxiety they felt at the time of the event and then were interviewed about the details of the crime which included some misleading information. Those that reported the highest level of anxiety also remembered the most accurate details.
• Evaluation - Loftus et al

  Research had standardised procedures. This means researchers can establish that the cause in the change in EWT accuracy was the gun. The task lacks mundane realism as it is unlikely any real anxiety was caused and giving a real EWT has consequences.

  Evaluation - Yuille and Cutshall

  High mundane realism as pps experienced a real crime -high ecological validity. Pps have had many opportunities to discuss the event - post event discussion - results lack internal validity. Pps who expressed the highest levels of anxiety may also have been closer to the event.
• Inconsistent results relating to the influence of anxiety on EWT can be explained by the Yerkes Dodson Law. This law states that performance, such as recall, will increase with anxiety up until a point, but if anxiety gets too high performance will decline.